Agile Transformation

We're doing a "White Elephant"-style spin on Pick-Your-Poison, a few days after Valentine's Day! Two of your packs will be whatever you choose, but ONE will be from a pool of packs that I encourage attendees to bring (I'll have some of my own whipped up ahead of time to make sure we'll have enough, just in case). The pack can be any 15 cards YOU choose to bring--could be 15 Storm Crows, 15 Conspiracies, or 15 Mythic Rares, the choice is yours! Also, here's a spreadsheet of cards [needed for my cubes](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1uanQ4tfY_ygH_wAFe9krzo1Swbu4Ax8Ao204nPPymIA/edit?usp=sharing) for donation/trade! Feel free to show up as early as 5:40 for Jumpstart or Planechase Commander. **Here's how PYP draft works:** I have dozens of sets, including just about every "normal" set printed since Battle for Zendikar, and some older/odder ones like M12, Dark Ascension, and Conspiracy 1 and 2. I've also got deluxe packs: New Phyrexia, Shards of Alara, Iconic Masters, and Ravnica Remastered, to name a few. You choose three different packs (for variety's sake, only one of those packs can be from the last 3 sets) and we all sit down and draft with what we've chosen. The price varies based on what you pick (on average it's $18, which would cover three normal packs and $6 prize support). Prizes are pack-per-win in whatever's handy. **PACKS PRICE LIST** Modern Masters 2017: $24 Eternal Masters: $24 New Phyrexia: $20 Ultimate Masters: $20 Alara Reborn: $16 Modern Masters 2015: $16 Shards of Alara: $12 Scars of Mirrodin: $12 Mystery Booster 1: $8 Mirrodin Besieged (Faction Packs): $8 Masters 25: $8 MODERN HORIZONS: $8 MODERN HORIZONS 2: $8 Magic 2011: $8 Iconic Masters: $8 Kaladesh: $8 Conspiracy Take the Crown: $8 Magic 2012: $6 Aether Revolt: $6 Conspiracy: $6 Dark Ascension: $6 War of the Spark: $6 Hour of Devastation: $6 Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth: $6 Magic 2012: $5 Everything else, mostly: $5-4 **Masters-marino repacks: $1** (a 15 card pack with one rare, one Conspiracy, and 13 other color-balanced, curve-balanced cards I guarantee are cool in draft) **CONDUCT POLICY** We cultivate a safe, friendly atmosphere. Please keep other's feelings close to mind. Derogatory comments of any kind are unacceptable, as is behavior that may make others uncomfortable, such as rage-quitting. If the stresses of the game are getting to you, we encourage you to politely sit out for a while. Thank you! **TARDINESS POLICY** If you're more than 10 minutes late, I'll enlist my wife to draft for you until your arrival. If she's unavailable, we'll make random, blind picks for you.

**\*\*Please note this event is in-person only.\*\* We have limited space, please do not RSVP if you are not planning on joining us in person in D.C. at SEI.** The villainous **Lord Taart Chart** has emerged from the shadows once again, and he’s targeting your data! In a brazen attack, he’s stolen your carefully curated data and locked it deep inside his fortified **Azure Vault**. **Your Mission:** You and your team must rise to the challenge, confronting Lord Taart Chart’s wicked ways by solving his **10 Power Query Puzzles**. These devious challenges will test your ability to wrangle, transform, and tame even the messiest of data. Join us at SEI for a reprise of our most popular session from Power BI Days DC 2025, a fiendishly tricky collaborative game developed by our very own John Kerski. In March, Lord Taart Chart will hit the road for his first ever appearance on the national stage at FabCon Atlanta.

**Tired of surface-level conversations?** Join us for *Real Talk*—an evening of deep, real connection with strangers who are down to go there. We’ll meet at the church (we are a secular group), break into small groups, and draw questions from a deck of cards designed to spark vulnerable, honest conversations. ***Rules:*** 1. Don't debate politics. 2. Keep what is shared in the group within the group. 3. If you need to use your phone, step away from your group first. \*\*If you show up late, please hop into a group and don't interrupt the speaker. Just sit down in a group of your choice, and they'll bring you up to speed when whoever is talking finishes. Community of Christ church: 3526 Massachusetts Ave. PS—If you want to support the group (Meetup organizer fees, new card games, misc. materials) then you can buy me a coffee here: https://buymeacoffee.com/dillantaylor ^^This is 100% optional, and can be done on a one-time or monthly basis. But the meetup will always be free. Thanks! 🙏

meet at Tysons Corner Mall Upper Level Food Court

Talk For Change (Club 1059567) is a mutually supportive and positive learning environment in which every individual member can develop communication and leadership skills, which, in turn, foster self-confidence and personal growth. We meet the first and third Wednesday of every month at 6:45 pm with online and in-person meetings. If you want to attend in person, we meet at Madhatters Restaurant, 1319 Connecticut Avenue, 1 block south of Dupont Circle, in Washington, DC. Contact us for more information (and to get the Zoom link for online attendance): contactusform-1059567@toastmastersclubs.org. http://talkforchange.toastmastersclubs.org/agenda-739269.html

Come enjoy breakfast and conversation with us at The Kosher Pastry Oven in Silver Spring. This is a great away to break with your old routine and make new friends. Questions? Click on my picture below to contact me. Hope to see you there! Ross A.

**A systemic constellation (also called Family Constellations) is a therapeutic group experience designed to uncover and resolve hidden family dynamics that may be influencing a person’s life.** Rooted in the work of Bert Hellinger, this method operates on the principle that unresolved traumas and patterns from previous generations can manifest in an individual’s relationships, health, or emotions. During the workshop, a facilitator guides participants as they explore these systemic entanglements using representatives—other group members who stand in for family members or key components of their issue. Through this process, participants gain deep insights into their energy field systems, fostering healing and a sense of resolution. These workshops provide a safe and supportive environment for self-discovery and transformation. Participants often experience profound emotional shifts as they witness and engage in the unfolding dynamics of their lives stories. By bringing unconscious loyalties, unresolved grief, or burdens to light, Family Constellation work helps individuals break free from limiting patterns, fostering greater harmony, self-acceptance, and a renewed sense of belonging. Whether attending as an active participant or as a representative, individuals often leave with a deeper understanding of their own lives and relationships. **Must register online FEE: $65** **Learn more and register** [here!](https://www.tealcenter.com/classes-and-events/)

In a Family Constellation workshop, your inner landscape is brought out of abstraction and into a living form. Rather than staying trapped in the loop of mental analysis, your issue is externally mapped into physical space, allowing you to see it as a three-dimensional field of relationships, forces, and movements. This spatialization creates an immediate, intuitive grasp of dynamics that are often invisible when held only inside the mind. As representatives embody elements of your system, unconscious material begins to speak through sensation, posture, emotion, and impulse—revealing hidden loyalties, interrupted bonds, and frozen patterns. What emerges is not a story about the problem, but a direct encounter with its structure. Family Constellation work operates as a post-modern, neo-shamanic ritual technology—an energetic container that the ancient layers of the psyche recognize and respond to. It bypasses excessive verbal processing and speaks in the language of image, body, and field, often landing with a depth and impact beyond talk therapy alone. This modality doesn’t just uncover wounds; it reconnects you to inner resources—strength, belonging, dignity, ancestral support—that were always present but obscured. From this place, genuine movement becomes possible. The work tends to feel less like “fixing” and more like remembering who and what you already are, creating conditions for profound healing, clarity, and moving forward. Randy Goldberg, LMT is a graduate of the DC Hellinger Institute, and of advanced studies in Family Constellation with Heinz Stark of Germany. He is a former Yoga monk, Craniosacral therapist, and a world-renowned astrologer (both Western and Vedic) interviewed by the Washington Post, NPR, and CNN. He has facilitated Family Constellation therapy for individuals and groups for more than 20 years. More information at www.randygoldberg.org ; 202-380-6850 or randygoldberg.org@gmail.com Febuary 21st Saturday 1-5pm at the TEAL Center in Arlington VA $65 4001 9th Street North, Suite 230 Arlington, VA 22203 To register, go to https://www.wellnessliving.com/rs/event/teal_center?k_class=870820

For our February Meetup the Shelties will re-investigate Frolick Dogs in Alexandria, which is a climate controlled INDOOR doggie gym with agility equipment to try out! We had a BLAST here in the past and this is the perfect place for a winter meetup! Note: Your dog must have current DHPP/Distemper, Bordatella, Rabies, and Parvo, with papers to prove it. More info at their site below. Our private Sheltie-only event runs from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm. This comes with a cost of $15 per dog and can accommodate up to 20 Shelties. (You pay as you enter.) Please RSVP with the number of SHELTIES ONLY in your party! (Not humans. Dog count is especially important for Frolick as there are only 20 spots.) We look forward to seeing everyone! What to bring: Extra Water & Bowls, Waste Bags, Training Treats, Current Shot Records (for Frolick) Further Info: -Frolick Dogs: http://www.frolickdogs.com/services/ Weather Note: because this is indoor, bad weather will NOT cause cancellation unless the roads become unsafe.

In a Family Constellation workshop, your inner landscape is brought out of abstraction and into a living form. Rather than staying trapped in the loop of mental analysis, your issue is externally mapped into physical space, allowing you to see it as a three-dimensional field of relationships, forces, and movements. This spatialization creates an immediate, intuitive grasp of dynamics that are often invisible when held only inside the mind. As representatives embody elements of your system, unconscious material begins to speak through sensation, posture, emotion, and impulse—revealing hidden loyalties, interrupted bonds, and frozen patterns. What emerges is not a story about the problem, but a direct encounter with its structure. Family Constellation work operates as a post-modern, neo-shamanic ritual technology—an energetic container that the ancient layers of the psyche recognize and respond to. It bypasses excessive verbal processing and speaks in the language of image, body, and field, often landing with a depth and impact beyond talk therapy alone. This modality doesn’t just uncover wounds; it reconnects you to inner resources—strength, belonging, dignity, ancestral support—that were always present but obscured. From this place, genuine movement becomes possible. The work tends to feel less like “fixing” and more like remembering who and what you already are, creating conditions for profound healing, clarity, and moving forward. Randy Goldberg, LMT is a graduate of the DC Hellinger Institute, and of advanced studies in Family Constellation with Heinz Stark of Germany. He is a former Yoga monk, Craniosacral therapist, and a world-renowned astrologer (both Western and Vedic) interviewed by the Washington Post, NPR, and CNN. He has facilitated Family Constellation therapy for individuals and groups for more than 20 years. More information at www.randygoldberg.org ; 202-380-6850 or randygoldberg.org@gmail.com Febuary 21st Saturday 1-5pm at the TEAL Center in Arlington VA $65 4001 9th Street North, Suite 230 Arlington, VA 22203 To register, go to https://www.wellnessliving.com/rs/event/teal_center?k_class=870820

**Experience the profound, transformational power of your own breath.** Our 90-minute monthly Breathwork class invites you to use conscious connected breathing as a path to healing and growth—especially valuable during life’s difficult moments. * This practice can help release emotional blockages, clear mental fog, and tap into resilience and self-compassion. Supported by evocative music and gentle guidance, you’ll journey deep within, allowing the breath to move energy and reveal new perspectives. * Each session includes time for journaling and integration, giving you space to process insights and emotions that arise. *All are welcome—no experience necessary, just bring a willingness to discover the strength within.* Investment: $55 per session, SAVE with $200 for 4 sessions! Must register here: https://www.tealcenter.com/classes-and-events/

# **Unlocking Flow: Aligning with Your Natural Rhythm** ### **Step into ease, creativity, and conscious momentum.** Flow is the state where effort meets ease, and time seems to dissolve. This workshop explores how to access and sustain flow in your daily life by aligning with your natural rhythms, mentally, emotionally, and energetically. Through movement, breathwork, and mindful awareness, you'll learn how to cultivate flow states that support creativity, productivity, and spiritual alignment. **Key Takeaways:** * Understand the science and spirituality of flow states * Identify your personal rhythm and energy cycles * Learn practices to enter and sustain flow * Enhance creativity, focus, and inner harmony Saturday, Feb. 21st, 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm. Held at Meditation Museum, 9525 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring, MD Free Event – Register at: [https://shorturl.at/6wKXS](https://shorturl.at/6wKXS)

**AI-Supported Creative Exploration** *For Unassuming Intuitives & Practicing Creatives* (Please note that this event has not been organized or endorsed by The Writer's Center.) This meetup is part of AI as Creative Partner — A Practice Group, a set of open, non-sequential creative labs you can join at any point. We use AI as a thinking partner—not to replace your ideas, but to help surface and shape them without overthinking or pressure. You bring fragments—ideas, impulses, unfinished concepts. With AI as a supportive collaborator, we explore how those fragments can become clearer, more coherent, and ready to share if and when you want to. No technical background is required. If you can talk or type, that's enough to work with AI here. This session is intentionally low-commitment and flexible: * Arrive late or leave early * Work quietly or observe * Ask questions, or simply watch the process unfold There's no presentation and no expectation to finish anything. Showing up as you are is enough. **FROM FRAGMENT TO FORM - AN OPEN AI STUDIO** Many creative ideas don't arrive as "projects." They arrive as fragments, moods, or something that won't leave you alone. This open studio is a place to gently explore those fragments using AI as a thinking partner—without forcing clarity too soon. You're welcome to work, observe, arrive late, or leave early. This is a calm room for unfinished ideas. **HOW TO FIND US** Look for the room with the door open on the lower level. Look for the guy with the screen projector and ambient light and sound. Feel free to just walk in and settle. **(*This is an independent meetup using rental space at The Writer's Center. The Writer's Center has not organized or endorsed this event.*)**

Transforming Heartache — Opening to Healthy Love Breakups, divorce, ghosting, betrayal, and unrequited love cut deeply. They don’t just hurt emotionally — they shake your foundation, your sense of self, and your ability to trust and love again. Most people try to distract themselves, numb the pain, or “get over it.” But heartbreak isn’t something you simply get over. It’s something you move through. Digest. Transform. Heartbreak brings old wounds to the surface — abandonment, invisibility, unworthiness, longing, attachment trauma. It exposes the emotional residue many of us have been carrying for years, sometimes decades. When these wounds aren’t processed, people often find themselves: • stuck in obsessive thinking about someone they can’t let go of • cycling through the same painful relationship patterns • drawn to unavailable or inconsistent partners • feeling anxious, destabilized, or emotionally overwhelmed • struggling with loneliness, shame, or self-doubt • confusing intensity with intimacy • feeling disconnected from themselves and their bodies This Meetup is a space for people who want something deeper than surface-level advice. Here, you’ll learn how to work with heartbreak at the levels where it actually lives — in the body, the nervous system, and the emotional core. Through guided practices and practical insights drawn from decades of experience in meditation, somatic healing, and attachment work, you will learn how to: • calm emotional overwhelm • metabolize grief and emotional pain • dissolve fixation and looping thoughts • reconnect with your body and inner stability • unwind unhealthy relational patterns • rebuild your emotional foundation from the inside out As you heal, something important happens. You become more grounded. More clear. More emotionally steady. And from that place, you naturally become more receptive to healthy, reciprocal love — the kind rooted in presence, mutual care, and real compatibility. This group is for those who are ready to do meaningful inner work. Not quick fixes. Not denial. Not endless venting without direction. If your heart is hurting, you are welcome here. If you’re ready to transform your pain into growth, you are welcome here. If you want to stop repeating the same patterns and build a healthier emotional foundation, you are welcome here. Your heartbreak is not the end of love. It can be the beginning of a deeper transformation.

*** Join us for a special evening celebrating the launch of Agile Meets AI: A Pragmatic Guide for Modern Teams by our own co-organizer, Sheila Eckert. After 30+ years as an agile practitioner, Sheila has written the book she has been wanting to write. It is a myth-busting, anti-pattern-exposing, practitioner-grounded guide for teams navigating agile in the age of AI. This is not a lecture. It is a conversation. Sheila will sit down for an interview covering why organizations struggle with agile, the anti-patterns that undermine teams, and how AI changes the game (for better and worse). You will also leave with practical tools you can use tomorrow. Books will be available for purchase and signing. Come celebrate with us.

😎It's here! Our next dbt meetup is coming up and will be hosted at the **Datadog** office: * New York Times Bldg, 620 8th Ave - 45th floor * New York, NY 10018 We are looking forward to socializing and seeing all of the new and familiar faces! 💡dbt Meetups are networking events open to all folks working with data! Talks predominantly focus on community members' experience with dbt, however, you'll catch presentations on broader topics such as analytics engineering, data stacks, data ops, modeling, testing, and team structures. **Our venue has capacity limits, so please only RSVP if you intend to come** and reach out to \**partnerships@brooklyndata.co*\* if you need to cancel last minute. At anytime, you may update your RSVP status on the Meetup to "Not Going." ➡️ Join the dbt Slack community: [https://www.getdbt.com/community/](https://www.getdbt.com/community/) 🤝For the best Meetup experience, make sure to join the **#local-nyc** channel in dbt Slack ([https://slack.getdbt.com/](https://slack.getdbt.com/)) dbt is the standard in data transformation, used by over 40,000 organizations worldwide. Through the application of software engineering best practices like modularity, version control, testing, and documentation, dbt’s analytics engineering workflow helps teams work more efficiently to produce data the entire organization can trust. Learn more: [https://www.getdbt.com/](https://www.getdbt.com/) \*\*\* 🏠**Venue Host**: Datadog 🍕**Catering**: TBD 🤝**Organizer**: Brooklyn Data 📣 Agenda and additional details below: * 5:30pm Networking * 6:00pm Intro remarks \| Refreshments & Conversation * Additional Sessions and Times Coming Soon ✨Speakers and Topics: * Maksim Romanchuk, Analytics Engineer at Westchester Medical Center on **One Model, Two Pipelines: Environment Variables Beyond Feature Flags** * Stephen Sciortino, Founder at DatabaseTycoon on **How to introduce dbt to your team** 🎤 Interested in speaking at a future meetup? Submit your interest using [this form](https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=xIkPdS1TOUOf2bYF7KJByN1Oqcs2pwhFhb9JprUBxnpUMjJQMEFFSDQ4TUtYUEY2N0dPV0dLUlRBUy4u), and we'll be in touch! To attend, please read the Required Participation Language for In-Person Events with dbt Labs: [https://www.getdbt.com/legal/health-and-safety-policy](https://www.getdbt.com/legal/health-and-safety-policy) *All participants are welcome. For questions regarding access and accommodation, please contact partnerships@brooklyndata.co in advance.*

Magically Preparing For Mercury Retrograde A VortexHealing® Group Session With Simon Deacon VortexHealing® Divine Energy Therapy When - Thurs, February 26th - 6pm Where - My Little Magic Shop - 697 Amsterdam Ave. & 94th St. - NYC Admission - $22 Booking Link [https://mylittlemagicshop.com/products/group-vortexhealing%C2%AE-with-simon-1?variant=48555702780146](https://mylittlemagicshop.com/products/group-vortexhealing%C2%AE-with-simon-1?variant=48555702780146) February 26th starts the beginning of Mercury Retrograde (Ends March 20th) It is a is a period of time when Mercury appears to be going backwards against the sky. The influences of Mercury Retrograde occurs when it is moving backwards, into its shadow, and thus communication, scheduling, electrical devices, transportation and judgment becomes effected. As Mercury Retrograde creates challenges in our outer reality it also contronts on how we react to those challenges in our inner reality. Most of us encounter these challenges when we are not aware or conscious of what is going on around us. When we are not acting from our heart and spirit. Instead we react from our needs, our hurts, or from our buttons being pushed. In that way we act from our shadow, and that is what mercury retrograde is all about. It becomes the perfect time to bring healing to our issues With the power of the VortexHealing® we will bring deep healing and transformation to the many levels Mercury Retrograde brings up. We will then add deep healing of an issue of your choice towards the end. I first start by invoking what is called the Planetary Puja. I will encompass all participants in a grid of divine healing essence. The puja will bring healing to all negativity and disharmonious influences that are occurring within Mercury Retrograde and your astrological chart. I then channel the divine healings essences to bring healing on all levels and dimension to the specific issues that Mercury Retrograde confronts. This is accompanied by a karmic healing that will bring a powerful acceleration to any karmic issues that may also occur during the retrograde. We will then add deep healing to an issue of your choice towards the end. With this group healing your receive a powerful advantage of healing acceleration, awareness and deep clarity that you carry with you all throughout the retrograde. \* Please bring your cell phones, lap tops or any other devices where you will receive special divine structures to help protect them during the retrograde. Admission: $35 [www.simondeacon.com](http://www.simondeacon.com/) Phone: 646-331-3944 ® “VortexHealing" is a registered service mark of R. Weinman VH Trust. All rights reserved. Used here with permission. For more information on VortexHealing visit [http://www.vortexhealing.org.](http://www.vortexhealing.org./)

To attend enroll here: [https://luma.com/q6kuetpe](https://luma.com/q6kuetpe) Agenda​ ​5 - 5:45: Pizza / Beer ​​5:45 - 6:15: NetApp, what we do, our role in open source - Mariah McLaughlin, NetApp ​​6:15 - 7:00: Unleashing AI in Cassandra 5 - Ritam Das, NetApp ​​7:00 - 8:00: When “Eventually” Meant 11 ms: Designing Deterministic Cassandra Architectures in the Telecom Core - Thomas Elliott, Your Augmented Life Advisory Services ​​8:00 - 9:00: Networking

Adults‑only night of magic, comedy, and up‑close interactive fun with the Winick Brothers Magicians! BYOB (Beer & Wine). Over 21. Get ready for a fun‑filled, adults‑only evening with the Winick Brothers Magicians! This high‑energy, interactive experience blends laugh‑out‑loud comedy, mind‑bending magic, and up‑close moments that happen right before your eyes — all woven together into one unforgettable show. This isn’t your typical magic night. The Winick Brothers bring a unique mix of sharp humor, audience participation, and magic that keep the entire room buzzing. creating an intimate, immersive atmosphere perfect for a night out with groups, friends or a memorable date. Over 21 only. BYOB (Beer & Wine) and snacks welcome. Come ready to laugh, be amazed, and enjoy a magical night you won’t forget. Winick Brothers Magicians 141 Franklin Ave. Nutley, NJ 07110 Register now on Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.com/e/winick-brothers-magical-experience-tickets-1981959604530?aff=oddtdtcreator

IMPORTANT: PLEASE USE THE QR CODE SENT TO YOUR EMAIL TO ACCESS THE BUILDING Come show your support for your fellow developers! We’re very happy to bring the community together for an evening of learning and connection. This time, we'll have a community member sharing a use case and, as usual, an Elastic employee sharing their expertise as well. Join us to learn something new and meet others who are passionate about search, observability, and security. **Agenda:** * 5:30 pm: Doors open; say hi and eat some food * 6:00 pm: Agent Builder: Providing Relevant Context for Data Driven Agents", by Kathleen DeRusso, Principal Software Engineer I at Elastic * 6:30 pm: Q&A * 6:40 pm: Improving Search Ranking with LambdaMART and Elasticsearch, by Brandon (Anbang) Wu, Senior Machine Learning Engineer at Quizlet * 7:10 pm: Q&A * 7:20 - 7:30 pm: Networking and event wrap-up **Abstract** **"Agent Builder: Providing Relevant Context for Data Driven Agents"** What are agents? What is context engineering? Join us as we dive into the importance of context engineering for providing relevant information to agents, and how to build grounded agents using Elastic Agent Builder. **"Improving Search Ranking with LambdaMART and Elasticsearch"** Quizlet’s search extended manual Elasticsearch boosts with a Learning-to-Rank (LambdaMART) model. Using query, engagement, and content features, we trained on study signals and validated with A/B tests, achieving measurable lifts in study rates: +3.42% on blended pages, +1.86% on sets pages, and +1.05–1.81% in downstream outcomes. This talk shares how we combined a custom ML re-ranker with Elasticsearch results—covering training data design, offline evaluation, latency, and model interpretability—and offers guidance for Elastic users to go beyond boosting and improve ranking quality. **Where**: Elastic NYC Office 1250 Broadway, Floor 16, Training Room New York, NY 10001 **When**: Feb 19th \| Doors open at 5:30 PM If you’re a long-time Elastic user or just starting your journey, this is the perfect opportunity to share ideas, meet new people, and get inspired. See you there!